Southwest Florida children sold as sex slaves

LEE COUNTY: The disturbing underworld of sex slavery is the fastest growing crime in the world. But what people most don't realize is that it's happening right here in Southwest Florida – from areas you might never expect.

In this world that many people do not even know exists, children are exploited and sold for sex.

NBC2's Marisa Brahney spoke to a woman named Liz who explained it is something she has first-hand experience with.

"I was six when my birth mother sold me into prostitution," she said. "She said, ‘You know, if you love me, you'll do this.' And any little girl wants to please their parents."

For 10 years, Liz's mother used her - she says - to pay the family bills by convincing and conditioning her to believe that sex was all she was good at.

Liz: I had this tunnel vision of, I'm a prostitute.NBC2: At six-years-old?Liz: At six-years-old - I'm a prostitute, that's what I do. I'm going to be the best prostitute out there.

He told NBC2 that in 2008 in Lee County, the unit rescued one trafficking victim.

In 2009, that same unit rescued 22 victims.

"We have domestic victims. We have foreign victims. We have victims from affluent families and we have victims from poor families," he said.

One recently-rescued victim, Zaleski said, was plucked right out of an upscale Gateway neighborhood.

"The trafficker promised her everything," he said.

The young girl from a wealthy family was lured by money, clothes, and a fast lifestyle. Zaleski says the trafficker quickly got the girl addicted to drugs, forcing her into prostitution with violent threats.

Zaleski: She was posted on the internet as a prostitute, on a prostitution site. Fifteen hours after that she was in her first act of prostitution.NBC2: And this is right here in Lee County? Zaleski: Right here.

And officials we spoke to said Lee County's problem isn't unusual for Florida. In fact, it's the number two state for human trafficking and it's the fastest growing crime in the world. Sadly, 50-percent of victims worldwide are children.

"As long as there's a demand out there, you're going to be paid well. And unfortunately, the price was high enough to make it acceptable for my birth mother to do that," said Liz.

Liz explained she ran away at 16, trying for a new start. But she says she knew nothing else and ended up falling into the same lifestyle she was raised in.

"Because I became so numb to that, I could rationalize it - that it didn't matter, that it didn't hurt that bad, that it wasn't as heinous as it actually is," she said.

Remarkably she made it to college in Tampa where she continued prostituting. But by then, she says she knew she wanted out.

"All my life I had wished that somebody would look at me and say, ‘Liz, you're valuable. What are you doing?'" Liz said.

That's when she found Julie Shematz.

Shematz is a victim herself. She worked in strip clubs for years until one day, while cocktail waitressing, the lifestyle took a very dark turn.

"The club owner set me up to sell sex for money. And it was coercion - it was fraud," she said.

Shematz eventually escaped, overcoming a drug addiction, graduating from Purdue and deciding to dedicate her life to helping other victims.

"They find me online, they read what happened and they feel safe connecting to me," said Shematz.

Shematz does outreach in local strip clubs, educating the girls about her own experience. She also runs a safe house in Lee County where she teaches victims their value and what it's really like to be loved.

"The majority of victims don't even realize they're victims," she said.

Shematz said a lot of the girls are just like Liz – girls who are who are learning how to live a normal life and learning how to connect emotionally.

Liz is now interning with Beauty From Ashes and said last month - for the first time in a long time – she was able to cry.

"It's the fact that I know that I'm loved. I believe it and I've never been able to say that before," Liz said.

Click here to learn more about Beauty From Ashes. You can also call the toll-free help line at (877) 423-2767.

You can also click here for information Wings of Shelter Int'l Inc. – another site dedicated to ending sex slavery. They can be reached at (239) 340-2980.

And at FGCU, from January 20-27, there will be a series of events about this very topic. It is called, "Out of the Shadows - End Slavery in Your Neighborhood:

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